TJ Chapman
Lead Columnist, Editor
For each of the teams in the Big Ten Conference, the 2025 college football season is less than six weeks away. With Big Ten Media Days this week, it’s time to look at each team and pinpoint one question heading into the 2025 season. Below are the questions for Ohio State through Wisconsin in alphabetical order.
Question: Will the inexperience of QBs Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz get the Buckeyes back to the CFP? No matter who wins the starting QB job at Ohio State, they will be under a tremendous amount of pressure and will be heavily scrutinized. That comes with the territory when you’re the QB at Ohio State, but it gets amplified when the Buckeyes are coming off a National Championship. While the defense lost a lot, it’s still a solid unit and should be one of the top defenses in the country. The schedule is a bit tough as they host Texas, Minnesota and Penn State while traveling to Washington, Illinois and Michigan.
Question: Even with the expected drop in production, can Dante Moore get Oregon back to the CFP? Moore has 5 starts under his belt, all with UCLA, and played mop-up duty last year for the Ducks. Now Moore is the starter and must contend with the Ducks losing a lot of production from 2024. There are pieces in place to make a run at both the Big Ten title as well as a deep playoff run, but it all starts with Moore. The schedule is tough and should hand Oregon its first Big Ten regular-season loss. They travel to Penn State, Iowa and Washington while hosting Indiana, Minnesota and USC.
Question: Can Drew Allar shake off the bad performances in the big games and lead Penn State to a National Championship? Despite losing some of their best players from the 2024 season, Penn State may have the best team assembled under head coach James Franklin. The duo of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen is the best RB duo in the country. The offensive line is experienced and very good. The defense will be very good, maybe even better than last year with the addition of defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. Franklin upgraded the WR position as part of the problem in the passing game last season was the WRs not getting open. But the big question is can Allar do it? The Big Ten schedule is tough as Penn State hosts Oregon, Indiana and Nebraska while travelling to UCLA, Iowa and Ohio State. The UCLA game is listed because cross country games are typically tough for the opposing team.
Question: What is a realistic expectation of wins in year one for Barry Odom? When you take over a team that finished 1-11 the previous season, there’s only one direction you can go, up. Last year’s backup QB, Ryan Browne, is back, as is leading rusher Devin Mockobee. In the two transfer portal windows combined, Purdue lost 57 players. However, they also added 57 players to replace the ones that left. This is a rebuild, and I can’t see more than 2 wins this season for the Boilermakers.
Question: Will Rutgers make a bowl game in 2025? There are two sides to the Rutgers coin. On one side of the coin, they return a lot of production from a team that went 7-5 in the regular season. On the other side of that coin, Rutgers has one of the toughest conference schedules in the Big Ten. The out-of-conference schedule should get the Scarlet Knights to 3 wins, but I don’t see 3 more wins in conference play. They host Iowa, Oregon, Maryland and Penn State while travelling to Minnesota, Washington, Purdue, Illinois and Ohio State. There might be 2 wins in that group for Rutgers.
Question: Can Nico Iamaleava lead the Bruins to a bowl game? The Tennessee transfer sent the college football world into a frenzy when he announced that he was leaving the Vols at the end of the Spring. Iamaleava led Tennessee to the CFP, losing to eventual National Champion Ohio State. It was an up-and-down year for Nico, at times looking like a 5-Star prospect and at times looking like a freshman in his first year as a starter. Head coach DeShaun Foster is hoping Iamaleava continues to develop and get UCLA back to a bowl game. The schedule is on the tougher side, drawing Penn State at home and Ohio State on the road. 6 wins isn’t impossible, but playing near his home in California may bring out a more focused and sharper Nico.
Question: Is USC the dark horse team to make the Big Ten championship? It’s year 4 at USC for head coach Lincoln Riley and this may be the year USC flies under the radar. The Trojans lost a lot of production from last year’s squad but used the transfer portal to plug some holes. QB Jayden Maiava became the starter late in the season and led USC to a 3-1 record in that time. The conference schedule is not tough as the Trojans host Michigan and Iowa while travelling to Illinois, Nebraska and Oregon. If USC can sneak a win at either Illinois or Nebraska look for the Trojans to make a run at the conference championship game.
Question: Can RB Jonah Coleman improve on his 1,000-yard season? Washington had one of the toughest schedules in the Big Ten last season, and Coleman still rushed for 1,053 yards and 10 TDs. Last year, the Husky offensive line was banged up and at times mediocre. With a few additions via the transfer portal, and the development of some younger offensive linemen, Coleman should be able to eclipse his 2024 rushing total.
Question: Will it be back-to-back seasons without a bowl game for the Badgers? Last year was the first time since 2001 that Wisconsin did not qualify for a bowl game. If you thought the Rutgers schedule was brutal, wait until you see the run Wisconsin has to go on. Wisconsin opens with home tilts against Miami (OH) and Middle Tennessee. Then the Badgers head to Tuscaloosa in week 3 to take on Alabama before hosting Maryland and getting a bye. Then the next 8 games include 4 home and 4 road games. The home games are Iowa, Ohio State, Washington and Illinois, while the road games are Michigan, Oregon, Indiana and Minnesota. Fickell is solid as far as his contract is concerned, but he needs to start making strides to get the Badgers back to the top of the Big Ten or his tenure in Madison will be short.